


Finding Solace in Your Arms

by SkyLeaf



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Genre: F/F, Fade to Black, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Morning After
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyLeaf/pseuds/SkyLeaf
Summary: The morning after, Hilda had expected for everything to have remained the same, and yet, it seemed that her world had become a little bit brighter when she saw Zelda lying next to her.
Relationships: Princess Hilda/Zelda
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Finding Solace in Your Arms

**Author's Note:**

> As you might have noticed, I love writing about my favourite ships waking up in the morning and just being absolutely in love. Help me - I think it might have become a problem :)
> 
> Also, I decided that I would rather be a little too careful with the rating than too careless, so this is probably closer to a teen rating than a mature rating, but I just wanted for people who really don't want to see it to be able to easily filter it out.

The morning after, Hilda woke up to find that, rather than having to face another day full of meetings and discussions alone, with her body already struggling with the feeling of how the night had let the coldness seep into every corner of her bedroom, Zelda had fallen asleep next to her.

Looking down, Hilda could see how Zelda’s arm was draped over her waist, the gentle weight reminding Hilda that the days, months, and years that had passed since they had finally restored Lorule’s Triforce and given back the potential the land had once held had not been a dream, a figment of her imagination, no matter how implausible it would once have seemed to her that she might one day wake up like this, with Zelda lying there next to her, the keeping the cold night air at bay.

But although Hilda would have loved to be able to simply stay there with Zelda for the rest for the day, she knew that she had to get dressed, had to be ready for another day of work, ready to pretend that her entire world had not changed. So, trying her best not to disturb Zelda, Hilda lifted her arm, only a little, just enough so that she would hopefully be able to slip out of the bed and move over to her armoire, her thoughts already flying towards the meeting she knew awaited her after breakfast. With how the discussions about what they should do to unite the kingdom once more, the fissures in the earth having led to both physical as well as mental barriers between those who lived in the area where the scars that decorated the ground below separated them, had only grown more intense as time had passed, Hilda already knew that the meeting could easily end up lasting hours, and even if that had not been the case, the option of staying there, to climb back beneath the blanket and let Zelda hold her close, already seemed too tempting for her to resist.

That was why Hilda did not give herself the chance to change her mind, already swinging her legs over the edge of the bed moments later.

However, despite how she had done everything she could not to wake her, Zelda stirred slightly, bringing a hand up to her face, rubbing the heel of her hand against her eyes as she slowly opened her eyes. “Hilda,” she whispered, her voice still covered by a layer of sleepiness, making it sound hoarse. Then, blinking once, twice, it appeared that Zelda realised that she was leaving, for she let out a little, displeased whine and reached out to take her hand, “please don’t leave me, not right now,” she asked, and although it would have been easier for Hilda to claim that the only reason Zelda was able to reach her hand, brushing her thumb across the back of her hand, was that she had caught her off guard, she was not able to deny how she too gave Zelda’s hand a little squeeze as she smiled down at her.

“I am afraid I will have to,” she said, and the apologetic tone in her voice was not entirely caused by how she would have to leave Zelda now, Hilda knew that as her stomach clenched slightly. Right then, the only thing she wanted to do was to forget for a moment how they were both princesses and had to act like the rulers of two countries. That way, she might have been able to give in to the temptation of agreeing with Zelda and let the council, the discussions, and the numerous insults, poorly hidden underneath the most insincere congratulations Hilda had ever heard, wait to instead let Zelda pull her close and simply be content staying in her bedchambers for the rest of the day.

“Please?” Zelda tried again, and Hilda could feel how it would only be a matter of time before she would not be able to remain focused on what was good for Lorule any longer, not with how Zelda’s tousled hair fell over her shoulders as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, the sheet she had wrapped around herself gliding down a few millimetres, revealing how she almost seemed to glow in the gentle light that came in through the windows, the heavy curtains unable to keep it from entering the room.

There were times were all it would take for Hilda to be brought back to the time where the sun had been dying, the sunlight enveloping the land in a sick shadow rather than providing them with life, was for her to close her eyes, but over the years, the times where she could barely believe that they had really been saved in the end had thankfully almost been brought to an end, and with Zelda next to her, Hilda doubted that she would ever have to worry about seeing the dying sky that had once been all she could see when she had looked out of the windows of the palace again.

Perhaps Zelda could see what she was thinking, for, only pausing for a moment to gather a handful of fabric of the sheet, making sure it would not fall down when she moved, she quickly crawled across the sea of silk and embroidery, moving to sit down next to Hilda on the edge of the bed. Her feet touched the ground when she leant in towards her, but she did not seem to mind, not as she reached out to quickly pull back a stray strand of hair, pushing it behind Hilda’s ear, before giving her an unsure smile. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” even after so long, it still felt strange to say that and mean it, almost like it was a sign that it was only a matter of time before something terrible would happen, rendering her unable to answer such a question by assuring Zelda that she was indeed fine. “Yeah, I am… perfectly fine.” seeing the way that was still not enough to let the slight frown pulling at the corners of Zelda’s lips disappear, Hilda reached out to place her hand on top of Zelda’s, and, while trying to remember if Zelda had always had that little freckle next to her right eye, Hilda let her voice drop to a whisper. “With you here, I doubt I would ever have been able not to be happy.”

Although it was apparent that she was trying to keep it back, a chuckle escaped Zelda, the sound making her shoulders shake a little before she looked back over at her. “Well, I am certainly happy to hear that. Just be careful not to say it too often, otherwise, I might come to view it as a challenge.”

“No, I promise that I won’t say it too often then.” Hilda laughed, but even as she sat there, Zelda sitting so close to her that her shoulder almost touched hers, the fact that she had been able to say that without lying still made the room seem just a little bit colder, brought Hilda a little further away from the joy that usually filled her world when Zelda was there with her and the feelings they had shared with one another during the night, instead making it so that she could almost hear the minister of finance tell her about how they had to make sure that they would be able to establish a new economy if they wanted to ensure that Lorule would be able to survive for millennia. It required more strength than what Hilda thought she would have been able to muster to bring herself to forget about it for another moment, but with Zelda next to her, it seemed that there was no limits for what they could do, so, Hilda leant towards her, enjoying how her head fit perfectly in the little spot between Zelda’s shoulder and neck as she used the excuse of the lack of distance between them to forget about how a princess was supposed to have a clear voice, instead mumbling to her. “Although I would love to see what you would do to attempt to convince me that you would ever be able to make me not enjoy the time you spend here with me.”

“I suppose I would love to see what I would actually even be able to do as well,” Zelda agreed, and before Hilda had even managed to gather her thoughts enough to use the chill the night had brought with it as a way to ask Zelda to stay close to her, she had already slung her arm around her, Zelda sending her a quick glance, only continuing when Hilda returned it with a little nod, “because, to tell the truth, I don’t want to ever have to actually try it.”

“That is probably for the best, for I doubt you would be able to,” Hilda whispered.

In the sparse lightning that entered the room, the heavy fabric of the curtains making it so that even the light itself seemed subdued, Zelda almost seemed like she would be able to illuminate the room, and in a way, Hilda supposed that she might really be able to. After all, although she knew that the children who would sometimes come to the castle, whispering in the hallways and pointing towards her, clearly trying their best not to let her see them, had never known anything but the world they now lived in, the people of Hyrule could say that there was not a single soul among them who had ever looked up at the sky to see the sick and bleak clouds that the destruction of the Triforce had brought to Lorule, so it would make sense that the princess of that realm would have come to possess a little of the light that had always shone in Hyrule.

That had been the first thing Hilda had noticed when she had first seen the other princess, seen what the Triforce had been able to do for the other world and what it could do for her. Later, she would see other things, realise how the people she would have doomed with her plan of taking the Triforce to save those who depended on her were no longer only an indefinable crowd she could easily brush aside with the promise that she was doing this for Lorule, to save those who had been doomed by the actions of her own ancestors, learn how there was such things as forgiveness, compassion, and, with time, even love, but in that moment when she had first looked at the painting that had held the trapped princess, all she had been able to see had been how Zelda had almost seemed to glow, the light hitting Hilda each time she would look at her, like she wanted to let her know that it was still not too late, how she could still change and do what was right. In a way, Zelda still did that. Even now, when she leant in towards her, capturing her lips in a kiss, making it almost impossible to think about how she had to head down to eat breakfast so that she would be ready to greet the day, Zelda was still helping her.

But, despite how Hilda for a moment found herself unable not to give in, her hand coming up to rest on Zelda’s shoulder, pulling herself closer towards her, she knew that, if she did not leave soon, she would arrive in the throne room to find the rest of the council staring at her, the disappointment evident in the eyes of those who seemed to support her, and the malicious glee almost seeming to fill the air around those who had done nothing but whisper in the corners, gossiping about how it was only a matter of time before Hilda would be forced to abdicate and give the throne to someone else.

So, although she would have loved to stay, Hilda soon reached out to gently push Zelda away. The way Zelda was not able to mask the hurt expression, the pain shining through the smile for a second, was enough for her chest to feel a bit tighter, her stomach appearing to become just a bit heavier, but Hilda remained strong. After all, she had not been able to survive in Lorule during the years where each day had only brought the realm closer to its demise by not being able to shove her feelings away, hiding them in the depths of her own mind to let her focus on what had to be done.

And right now, that was to make sure that she would not give the council another reason to doubt her authority, so Hilda gave Zelda an apologetic look as she tried to explain. “I am sorry, but the council, they…” the moment she had to tell another person about the feeling that washed over her the moment she would enter the throne room only to hear how the whispers ceased in an instant, Hilda found herself unable to form the words that were needed.

However, it did not seem that she had to continue, for Zelda simply nodded at her. “They doubt you, don’t they?” she said, and in that moment, Hilda could not have been more grateful for how Zelda did not let it become a question, something that required for her to find an answer, instead continuing only a moment later. “I know that it will not make it feel any less horrible, but let me tell you that the fact that they are unable to see how absolutely fantastic you are will never say anything about you or your ability to rule.” almost like she was not sure if the way her voice had rose halfway through the sentence had been enough to emphasise her point, Zelda nodded, the gesture making it seem like her hair came alive, falling in front of her shoulders like rivers of pure light. “That will only ever be able to tell you something about them, and not anything pleasant.”

Hilda let out a short sigh. “I know. I know that I should not worry about it. I know that these intrigues and struggles for power are nothing but another thing I will have to get used to if I want to be able to stay on the throne, but I just… I had thought it would be different.”

For that was what it was all really about, was it not? Once, Hilda had assumed that the only thing she had to worry about was how she had to find a way to give Lorule a new Triforce, and that, once she had ensured that her kingdom would not die, peace would return and she would be able to look at a prospering kingdom and know that it was because of her that the air was clean enough to allow them to breathe freely without having to cough up dirt and soot, that the water was so fresh that they could drink it without first having to treat it to make sure they would not become sick. But it seemed that every time Hilda had managed to figure out a way to solve one problem, twenty more would await her, and little by little, the idea of how she might one day finally be able to simply rest, to stay with Zelda, began to feel more and more like an unattainable dream.

“Hey.” the sound of the sheets rustling slightly as Zelda took her hand, bringing it up to her lips to press a soft kiss to her knuckles brought Hilda back to the moment between them. Thankfully, Zelda seemed to understand that, for Hilda’s pride, it would be better if she ignored how even that little gesture had been enough to make her blush, instead continuing. “I promise you that it will get better one day. It might not be right now, and it might not be tomorrow, but trust me when I say that, one day, you will wake up and know that you have managed to secure your own position at court.” Hilda must not have been able to properly hide her disbelief, for, letting out a tiny sigh, Zelda sat up a bit straighter, gesturing towards nothing in particular. “You know, when I was younger, I struggled with getting the council and all the ministers to listen to me as well. I was young and inexperienced, and they had helped my father for practically all their life, so when I had to take the throne, they did not listen to me. But, little by little, the slowly began to respect me, and although it is still difficult today, I know that they only argue against me because they want what is best for Hyrule rather than because they don’t trust my judgement. I promise you, Hilda, they will begin to respect you—you might just have to wait a while before they discover what I already have seen.”

“And what is it then that you have discovered about me?” the words had left her mouth before Hilda had even registered them appearing in her brain.

From the way Zelda blinked, the confident look in her eyes faltering for a moment, it was apparent how the question had caught her off guard as well, but the surprise was gone as quickly as it had appeared, instead replaced by the playful smile she had first sent her years after they had begun the process of reconciliation. “Well,” she began, letting the word trail off before she continued, “to begin with, I realised just how intense you could be at times.” Zelda paused, pressing a kiss to her cheekbone. “Intelligent.” this time, the kiss was placed near her jaw. “Ambitious.” her neck. “Kind.” the area directly underneath her collarbone, Zelda pushing her hair behind her shoulders as she continued. “Loyal. Affectionate. Compassionate.” each word was accompanied by yet another kiss, every one of them sending shivers down Hilda’s spine. Finally, Zelda looked back up at her. “Should I continue or do you rather want to attend the meeting?”

Hilda did not have to think twice. With how Zelda was looking at her, her eyes shining in the dimply lit room, the laugh that escaped her reflected in the twinkle in her eyes, she knew that the meeting would have to wait for another day. After all, was that not what Ravio had meant when he had pulled her aside to tell her to think about herself from time to time, to let the kingdom wait? Hilda was certain that this had not been what he had had in mind, but if that was her way of interpreting his advice, she was sure he would understand why she would not be able to leave her chambers for the next few hours.

Sending Zelda a smile of her own, Hilda nodded. “No, I think I will stay.”

“Then so will I.”

The look of pure joy on Zelda’s face, the way her eyes sparkled in response to her answer, was almost enough to make Hilda’s heart skip a beat, but even then, that was nothing when compared to the way Zelda pulled her in, the lack of space between them for once making it so that, rather than picturing how she would be met with disappointment the next time she would be forced to enter the throne room, how this stolen moment of bliss would mean mountains of paperwork and reports she had to read the next time she would enter her office, Hilda was able to simply exist in the moment. And right now, her entire world seemed to consist of Zelda and Zelda alone, so, as the sun rose up above even the tallest mountains visible on the horizon, Hilda allowed everything else to wait for a moment. For now, it was only her and Zelda, and she would let it stay that way for a few hours more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you want to, you can always come visit me on [Tumblr](https://theseventhsage.tumblr.com/)


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